Chapter 10 - Freedom

As cultivators with their senses enhanced, the two people rolling around on the bed knew they were being watched.

It wasn't that they were comfortable or enjoyed being seen while they were doing the deed but they were so engaged in what was happening that they didn't care enough to stop what they were doing and scold the courtesans who were watching them.

After a while, it seemed clear to the audience that they wouldn't stop any time soon so they left and other courtesans replaced their spots.

Through word of mouth, by the time the two of them stopped, everyone at Golden Hour had been a part of the audience at least once. 

A couple of people returned a few times here and there either because they found what they were watching to be arousing them or because they were impressed by the stamina of both participants.

Drinking a glass of water, Yi Tian looked at his sex partner who was lying on the bed while staring up at the ceiling with a blank look on her face.

Her face was still flushed from earlier and she was slowly catching her breath.

Now that everything was over, it seemed she was both gathering her thoughts and making sense of her emotions.

[Inner Thoughts: I didn't know it was possible for people to have sex this long. What was that? It had to have been at least four hours. Maybe five.]

She tilted her head and saw the glass of water Yi Tian was offering her.

She accepted it and gulped it down instantly.

[Love Points: 42 (Indifferent)]

She was still far from liking him but at least now, she no longer viewed him as a representative of Yi Pengfei but instead, as his own person whom she didn't have any problems with.

More parts of her past self had escaped the cage she had trapped them in.

"You're a cultivator?" she asked.

He nodded.

She hadn't been able to tell at first because she couldn't sense any qi in him but the fact he still looked full of energy after that intensive exercise the two of them had done, he had to be a cultivator.

"When?" she inquired.

"Yesterday."

Byeon Min-Hee connected the dots and realized that his change in personality was because he had reached the Qi Condensation realm.

It sounded laughable that one's personality could change that drastically but she felt like she had a clue why he was a different man than the one who had been frequenting the red-light district for years.

[Inner Thoughts: It's not that his personality changed. It's just that by proving people wrong and escaping the stigma that he's a useless son of a bitch who is unable to cultivate and is the biggest disgrace the world has ever seen, his real self which he had been hiding... it can finally reveal itself to the world.]

'That's pretty accurate,' Yi Tian nodded.

"How did you learn how to... do all those things?" she asked, her flushed face turning even redder as she realized how embarrassing the words that came out of her mouth were.

"What things?" he pretended not to understand the question.

"Yi Tian, you know what I'm referring to."

Yi Tian shrugged, finding it amusing to tease the woman who had wanted him dead a few hours ago.

The gap between the two versions was interesting to him.

What was even more interesting was the fact that she still hadn't realized that the soul-binding contract she had with Yi Pengfei was gone.

He was searching for the right time to bring it up.

That time wasn't at the current moment because he was being pressed by Byeon Min-Hee who looked desperate to find out the source of his knowledge.

That's how impressed and pleased she was with his performance.

If she had to grade it, it would receive a grade beyond perfection.

"Be honest Yi Tian, how did you learn how to... how to pleasure a woman like that? I don't want to insult you after what you've... you know... just did to me but, I've heard the other girls talk. All of them say that you're quick to finish and you either lay there like a dead fish or when you take the reins, you handle the girls like a virgin."

There wasn't a way for Yi Tian to give a truthful answer since the system was an existence that he'd never reveal to anyone.

And he meant it — not a single soul other than him would ever hear a peep about the system.

Yi Tian also couldn't claim to have learned it by himself overnight because he had been at the red light district just two days before his birthday.

So boldly and without hesitation, he lied.

"It's not I learned how to pleasure a woman. I've always known how to do it," he answered.

Byeon Min-Hee looked confused.

"Then why didn't you show it?"

"...Be honest with me, how much enjoyment and pleasure did I bring you?"

The question was an embarrassing one to answer but Byeon Min-Hee's curiosity was slightly stronger so she said, "A lot. The feeling of having an orgasm... just once would make my entire year better but you made me..."

She didn't have to finish her sentence because both of them knew what she was trying to say.

"Now imagine this; the Yi clan's disgrace is capable of doing something that no other man on the planet can do. He's someone who can't defend himself, his entire clan hates him, and if he were to be kidnapped, his clan might pretend to care about finding him for a few days before eventually dropping the search altogether," he formulated a lie on the spot, justifying it so well that even he started to believe what he was saying.

"So in order to protect yourself from kidnappers who might want to extract the techniques and knowledge from you... you pretended to be a quick shot?" she asked, her jaw slightly dropped as she connected dots that didn't exist.

Yi Tian confirmed her question with a slight nod.

"...Then I guess for the sake of all the courtesans at this place and the other buildings, we should host a feast celebrating the fact that you broke through to the Qi Condensation realm."

Yi Tian chuckled at her words which were said partially as a joke but also — partially seriously.

The two continued their conversation a little longer and Byeon Min-Hee even caught herself letting out a small chuckle at one of his jokes.

Normally, she would've dipped to her room as soon as the hired service was over but this time, she was choosing to willingly stay in the room and make small talk.

[Love Points: 47 (Indifferent)]

Just by talking and getting to know more about Yi Tian that went beyond the rumors everyone spread daily, she found herself favoring him a little more with each passing second.

To be clear, she still didn't like him.

It's just that now, compared to everyone else in the world excluding the courtesans who she had a professional relationship with, she didn't mind tolerating him.

As the conversation began to die down, Yi Tian knew that it was the perfect time to reveal an important piece of information.

"Byeon Min-Hee," he called her name.

The two of them had gotten dressed and were sitting on the couch because the bed was far too drenched with their juices for them to find it comfortable sitting there.

"Yeah?"

"Remember what I told you when you first asked me why I chose to purchase your service now?"

"...Yeah. I do," she said, recalling the question she had asked him hours ago.

She had forgotten about it because of the electric tingles her brain experienced during sex.

[Inner Thoughts: Why is he bringing that up now? When the mood between us was finally good.]

She kept an open mind but still couldn't help but frown ever so slightly.

"I meant it when I said I was here to help you," he told her.

His serious tone informed her that he was being genuine.

Which made her ask, "And how do you plan on helping me?"

[Inner Thoughts: Excluding what we just did. That... that also helped me out quite a substantial amount.]

"Everyone knows that you work as a courtesan unwillingly."

"..."

"So why don't you leave?"

Byeon Min-Hee's face turned red again except this time, it was out of anger instead of being flustered.

"Yi Tian, I thought you were a genuine person but I guess I was wrong. How dare you suggest that whilst knowing what my circumstances are."

[Love Points: 44 (Indifferent)]

[Love Points: 41 (Indifferent)]

[Love Points: 37 (Dislike)]

Her feelings towards him were rapidly dropping but Yi Tian didn't panic.

"I said I was going to help you but I think it would be more accurate to say that... I already have," he smiled which caught her off-guard because she had expected a different reaction from him.

Then once she clocked what he just said, one of her eyebrows raised in confusion.

[Inner Thoughts: He already helped me? What does he mean by that?]

"Byeon Min-Hee, let's leave this place. You're free now."

There was a brief moment of silence as Byeon Min-Hee sat there completely still.

The sound of a needle drop could be heard at that moment.

Then after a while, the first sound to be uttered in the room was the sound of a tear cascading down her face.

"...I'm free," she muttered, turning her head towards Yi Tian who nodded his head with a smile.